Maundy Thursday

Exodus 12:1-14

Psalm 116

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

John 13:1-17, 31-35

The most condescending and hurtful insult I think I have ever heard was someone being told to “know your place.” The implied superiority of the one making the statement imposed such inferiority on the one to whom it is directed there is no response that can be given. It stops everything. Growing up in the south, that statement was infused with even deeper meaning as it was often directed toward African Americans and poor whites who did or said something that made the impression that they imagined they were higher in status that the speaker knew them to be. The comment made to anyone not in either of those categories suggested that they belong in one of those categories. During the Passover evening with his Apostles, Jesus essentially directed two apostles to know their place; however, the lesson he delivered defines our place in his kingdom and it is far from insulting.

The Exodus passage provides the requirements for Passover along with God’s command for observing it. One aspect to Passover that stands out against other festivals and rituals is that it focuses on practical actions for those who are prepared to flee at a moment’s notice. The directions for observing the holiday involved communal preparation, cooperation, and taking care of one another. Celebrating the event is supposed to remind the Jews of their salvation from Egypt.

Christians have our own event that mirrors the Passover. Thursday evening, Jesus retreated to a secluded upper room for an evening together with his Apostles. Jesus instituted communion as he broke the bread and shared the wine. With such staples as bread and wine, Jesus gave his followers a way to remember him and a way to share his ministry to others through the symbolism attached to the elements. Jesus also took the time  to wash the feet of each disciple. The disciples were not ready to grasp the significance of the actions, but within hours everything he said suddenly overflowed with meaning as those who had been taught by him understood the meanings of his lessons. By observing the rite as Jesus commanded, we are reminded of the sacrifice for our salvation.

Jesus found himself still addressing the right attitude of his followers even while teaching the final lessons of his ministry. The fiery and impulsive Peter struggled with the balance between humility and authority in Jesus’s kingdom. Jesus sternly corrected him twice as he demonstrated the power of servant-leadership. So much of what Jesus taught contradicted popular belief of strength and weakness then and now, yet when closely examined we have found what Jesus directed was remarkable in transforming the interaction. Jesus, knowing the events that would unfold sent Judas out to do what he was to do.

In his final lesson to the Apostles, Jesus commanded them to know their place. Rather than humiliate them into submissive obedience, Peter became a powerful church starter and Judas was able to go out and complete the betrayal. For both of them the power they exercised came by submitting to the people they served. Jesus reiterated his great commandment to love one another, which would become even more important when he was gone. The practices of communion and foot washing assist us to remember his lessons and to accept our place. Our place at the table. Our place as servants. Our place in authority, able to do anything  God desires us to do.

Know your place!

Holy Monday

Isaiah 42:1-9

Hebrews 9:11-15

John 12:1-11

We all have that thing that motivates us, that thing we cannot resist. For some it is money and the ways to make it, legal and illegal. For others it is the thrill that comes from escaping a dangerous situation like skydiving. For others, it is chocolate! Each of us responds in a certain way given a certain stimulus and varies in intensity with each of us. Just as on Palm Sunday we saw a variety of events that sparked the leadership to respond, but they only capped growing fear and resentment in those who were threatened by Jesus’s ministry. The passage in John takes place prior to the triumphal entry, but sets the stage for much to come.

Isaiah and Hebrews reference covenants of God with humankind. In the Isaiah passage, the author celebrates benefits of being the people in covenant with God. The Hebrews author presents the supremacy of the covenant that came through Christ. The differences between the covenants so drastically changed religious practice that the entire economy around worship was demolished while the reward for those following the new covenant exceeded that for those following the old.

The passage in John takes us to Jesus visiting close friends in Bethany just before making his journey into Jerusalem. At dinner with Mary, Martha,  Lazarus, and at least some of the twelve apostles, Mary with passion and humility does the most meaningful thing she can think of doing. She take the very best of perfumes and spreads it over Jesus’s feet with her hair. As the author of John presents it, Judas feigns disappointment in suggesting a donation to the poor would have been a better use of the perfume while internally coveting the money for his own use. Various passages present the weakness of various apostles and here is Judas’s fault.

The message Jesus gave of his coming death, in the home of the one he raised from the dead, went unrecognized by those present. Judas’s greed and the apparent obliviousness of the others present reflect typical human nature. For Jesus to say he was going to die, while sitting at the table with one he had called from the grave, was beyond what those present were able to imagine. It is not that they were not paying attention, they could not believe Jesus could die.

The crowd who gathered to see Jesus also came to see Lazarus. People Jesus cured could be found all along the routes of his ministry, but Lazarus represented the ultimate miracle. And the ultimate threat to the religious establishment. John reveals the determination of the religious leadership to not only kill Jesus, but to kill Lazarus who was proving the convincing evidence for Jews who had up to now resisted the teaching of Jesus. For those chief priests and religious leadership barely holding on to power in the midst of an occupation by a culture hostile to the Jewish faith, a competing religion threatened their hold on power more than the military. Their position and livelihood could disappear as quickly as their followers.

Even today we see people in all walks of life responding to greed and power as did those in the passages today. Even we respond to these basic urges. Our responses to those urges define us regardless of who we claim to be. Those responses label us old covenant, new covenant, or no covenant. When faced with the challenges of life, I need to stop and consider which covenant my response reflects.

Advent - Week 4 - Love

Scriptures

Isaiah 7:10-16

Romans 1:1-7

Matthew 1:18-25

Reflection:

This final Sunday in Advent, we focus on love. The love God has for all of creation is important.  The love Jesus has for all people leading to the chance for salvation is important.  Without them the world would cease to exist - at least in any form we would recognize. As important as the love of God and the love of Jesus are, in the forefront of the scriptures this week is the love of people for God that affects the outcome of his kingdom on Earth.

In the Old Testament I think it is hard to find many figures who loved God more than the prophets. God gave them the thankless duty of delivering his message to the entire nation - from leaders to the least powerful. Most of their messages harshly condemned widespread behavior in the society that violated God’s rules. When they gave good news for an undisclosed point in the future very often the people realized that the good news was not even going to happen in the lifetime of their children (and sometimes even later). It takes a great deal of love to faithfully recite the message from God to the people. Isaiah faced that when the leader refused to do what God directed (ask for a sign). Instead he was forced to tell them of the sign (Messiah) who was to come some generations in the future.

In the Romans passage, Paul describes the process by which Jesus’s followers came to have the authority available to them: believe that Jesus was God’s son. After believing in Jesus, the believer is expected to love God enough to complete their part of God’s plan. In Paul’s case it meant giving up his prominent position within the Jewish religious elite to replace it with a New Covenant that also included the Gentiles. Early Christians abandoned tradition for a new teaching.

The story in Matthew would be vastly different if Mary and Joseph had not loved God as much as they did. Despite fantastical occurrences that friends, family, and society would have rejected outright in the moment, Mary and Joseph loved God enough to follow his direction and trust everything would work out as he promised. They too rejected traditional ways of behaving in the circumstances and followed the way God directed them to go.

We often refer to the power of love in trivial ways, but when we see the power love carried through these passages we begin to understand the transformative power of love in the world around us. As we reflect on the impact love had on the Christmas story we can also reflect on the many times Jesus gave directions to love. What would happen if we truly started loving with a love equal to that found in the scriptures today? Our world might be a little more like God wanted it to be. That’s the power of love.

July 7 Ordinary Time

Today’s Scriptures: Lectionary selections from the Revised Common Lectionary Year C 2 Kings  5:1-14 Isaiah 66:10-14 Psalm 30 Psalm 66 Galatians 6:1-16 Luke 10:-11, 16-20

Today’s Reflection: A few years ago the Staples office supply stores began airing commercials that featured the “Easy Button” that solved all the world’s hard problems. The catch-line being that there was no such thing, but they (Staples) made it easy to get all the office supplies you needed for your home or business. In the faith traditions we often focus on the challenges to overcome in order to follow God’s direction. We often preach that there is no easy way, but the passages today offer some relief from those teachings. When we realize the work comes from an all-powerful God, the work suddenly becomes much more doable. The account of Naaman in 2 Kings is one such story in which the participants sought the challenging way. Upon learning that healing could be possible through a prophet in Israel, his king sent Naaman and a sizable “offering” of silver, gold, and robes to the king of Israel. The expectations of that time were that 1) it would cost something (an offering), and 2) the king, being king, was the prophet of God. Those assumptions nearly provoked a war as the king of Israel saw the offering and message as a taunt. Fortunately, the prophet Elisha recognized that it was an act of faith that sent Naaman to Israel and called for him to come to his house. Elisha’s next actions dispelled the protocols of the time. He gave directions for a very simple action that would cure Naaman’s leprosy - no offering or sacrifice required. He also refused to meet Naaman face-to-face, instead sending a servant to deliver the directions. He wanted it to be clear that rank in society had nothing to do with the ability of God to act through a person and to show that Naaman’s faith led to the cure, not some miraculous power contained within the prophet himself. To put it directly: God is present even when the prophet is not. Naaman’s challenge was accepting something so simple. As a man of his time, and one in high position, he expected experiences to play out in a certain way. Elisha’s actions violated all those expectations. It took the wisdom of those in lesser positions to convince Naaman that he should at least try what the prophet said. When he accepted the advice and bathed in the Jordan, God healed him. Sometimes it is just that easy. God’s commands are not always hard for us to follow, but we focus so often on the trials and tribulations of being Christian that we develop a mindset that anything God calls us to do is going to require some great sacrifice. As with Naaman, the sacrifice may be a preconceived notion. We may have to sacrifice some of our “beliefs”  because we have always been taught that his how to believe only to have God whisper a different message in our ear. We do not often consider changing a mindset as a great sacrifice, but the Bible is filled with stories, like Naaman (and Paul!) who had to adjust the way they believed to match the mind of God. Our deeply held beliefs guide our words and actions; changing those beliefs can be one of the biggest challenge any Christian faces. There is no “easy button” when faced with such decisions; we can only open our heart and our ears to the message God gives us now.

Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, copyright © 2005 Consultation on Common Texts. www.commontexts.org

June 2 Ordinary Time

Today’s Scriptures: Lectionary selections from the Revised Common Lectionary Year C 1 Kings 18:20-39 Psalm 96 1 Kings 8:22-23, 41-43 Galatians 1:11-24 Luke 7:1-10

Today’s Reflection: I watch too many reality cooking shows. As I began reading the story of Elijah and his battle with the Baal priests, I couldn’t help but title it: Iron Priest – Israel! The secret ingredient: FIRE! with the announcer greeting the crowd, “Welcome to altar stadium.” Anyone who has ever tried to build a fire with wet wood knows what a disaster it can be. It generally ends with lots of smoke, and frustration. That may be, for me, why the story of Elijah’s battle with the Baal priests remains so fascinating: if God can set wet wood on fire, then he can do anything! Today’s passages help point us in the direction that guides the power of God with humankind. The themes that resonate from the 1 Kings passages as well as the other passages for me are the proximity of God and who can call on the Lord. Elijah mocks the priests when Baal does not respond to their loud cries. He wonders if the god has “turned-off (meditation/sleep),” or “wandered away.” The priests’ increasingly frantic (and increasingly bloody) cries continue to go unanswered; their ordinary offering remains untouched. Elijah ups the challenge by making his offering extraordinary through the soaking of the wood, and his request is immediately answered; everything present, including the altar is gone. Elijah’s mocking of the priests with the suggestion that their god has wandered away is turned on its head in the Luke passage. The faithful centurion realized that Jesus did not have to be “present” in the physical, tangible sense to accomplish his wishes. All he had to do was declare it done and it was. The element in both stories is faith: no matter who you are, a powerful prophet called by the Lord or a foreign military leader, true faith allows the Lord to work his will in the circumstances of our lives. When we accept the “Godness” of God faith can become a lifestyle. This does not mean we have to understand the “Godness” of God for that exceeds human understanding; we are called to believe it exists and act accordingly. Each passage confirms that anyone who has this belief, Israelite or “foreigner,” can call on the name of the Lord. Although I do like my reality cooking shows, I tend to be analytical and struggle with a demand to understand God’s being rather than accept that it is. Today’s passages give a perspective to accepting the nature of God, and at least for this week, help me live in the way of faith.

Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, copyright © 2005 Consultation on Common Texts. www.commontexts.org

Second Sunday of Easter - April 7

Today’s Scriptures: Lectionary selections from the Revised Common Lectionary Year C Acts 5:27-32 Psalm 118:14-29 Psalm 150 Revelation 1:4-8 John 20:19-31

Today’s Reflection: Following the weeks of Lent and then Holy Week, our lives have a way of returning to normal after Easter. After Easter services we collectively release a sigh of contentment, comment on how nice everyone looked in their Easter finery and how beautiful the Easter lilies were – oh, and the ham was especially good. Then Monday comes and we resume our pre-Lenten habits and routine. It is as easy to drop the spiritual disciplines we took up as it is to drop the latest diet (it can start right after this dessert). The apostles did not have that luxury as they were given a new command by Jesus when he first met with them in the upper room a week later. The disciples hiding behind locked doors fearing that they were the next targets of the Jews represented the powerlessness the believers must have felt during that time. In his ministry, Jesus talked about and demonstrated much power (as did the disciples when they were sent out in groups) through God. Yet, now that he had been crucified, did the power still exist? The removal of the leader did so much to shake the confidence of the believers. Faith may be strong, but when physical events demonstrate an (apparent) mastery over the message the faith proclaimed, it becomes increasingly harder to maintain the faith. In a flash it all changes. Despite the locked doors, Jesus is standing in their midst, showing them the wounds in his hands and on his side. THEN the disciples rejoiced. He blessed them and gave them the Holy Spirit with the command to go into the world preaching the Gospel. He gave them the authority of forgiving sins. This authority empowered the believers to defy the persecution and commands to stop preaching. The Acts passage has Peter and others called before the council which is reproaching them for their continued teaching. Between the resurrection of Christ and the time before the council, the apostles went from being powerless believers whose faith was shaken to the core to being the powerful believers who challenged the authorities who sought to persecute them. The strength that came to them from the Holy Spirit continues with us today. As Christians we have the authority to speak up for what is right and wrong and to resist persecution for the belief we have in Christ Jesus. We have to be careful about the Thomas story in the John passage. Before we stop to scapegoat Thomas for his lack of faith, we need to remember just a few verses before that Jesus appeared in the room and showed the disciples his wounds. They had all seen and THEN rejoiced.  When Jesus comments about not seeing and believing, he is talking about us, not singling Thomas out from the other disciples. We are blessed because we continue to believe though the wounded Christ has never been in our presence. We are equally blessed to continue to receive the Holy Spirit and work out the will of God in the world around us. As we move out of the Lenten and Easter times let us remember the gift and power that comes though the Holy Spirit and consider how quickly we want to give up the practices we grew during the last months.

Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, copyright © 2005 Consultation on Common Texts. www.commontexts.org